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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. court — for sport
  3. fall — the season
  4. current — electric
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kick — in football
  8. rest — a break
  9. kid — child
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. deal — to handle
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. ground — a position
  14. fall — to drop
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. rest — what's left
  17. court — of law
  18. court — of a king
  19. fall — to drop
  20. current — happening now
  21. ground — crushed
  22. rest — what's left
  23. ground — the earth
  24. deal — a big deal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com